Motivations, contributions and implications of learning Portuguese as an Additional Language by Colombian university students: a pedagogical proposal

Most Colombian universities require certification of proficiency in at least one additional language as a graduation requirement. Among several op- tions, some students choose to learn and certify the Portuguese language. The purpose of this research is to understand the motivations for this choice, as well as the contributions and implications of learning Portuguese as an Additional Language (PLA) by Colombian university students. For this, we built a semi-open online questionnaire that was answered by 140 PLA students from two private institutions of higher education, one in Colombia and the other in Brazil. Based on data analysis, we found that the motivations for learning Portuguese are both personal and professional. From a personal point of view, there is an interest in approaching the language and cultures of Brazil and Portugal. From a professional point of view, students say that Portuguese opens doors to an academic network that provides opportunities to learn about research, do exchanges and project themselves in a broader job market. With a view to contemplating the analyzed motivations, we propose a pedagogical approach that brings languages and cultures closer together through an intercultural perspective and whose content production by students is presented via the delivery of a portfolio.